Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has confirmed Tuesday’s killing of five officers of the National Park Service in a bandit attack on the National Park Office in Oloka Village, Orire Local Government Area of the state.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page on Wednesday, the governor described the incident as a “devastating loss” of personnel carrying out their lawful duties.
Governor Makinde said preliminary investigations by security agencies indicate the attack was cross-border in nature, carried out by armed bandits from neighbouring regions.
He added that security agencies are working together to address the situation and called on residents in the area to assist with intelligence gathering.
The governor appealed for calm among residents, particularly in Orire LGA and other border communities.
He said normalcy had been restored and additional security personnel deployed, pledging that the state government would ensure that such attack does not reoccur.
“Let me appeal to residents of Oyo State, especially those in Oriire LGA and other LGAs along our borders, to remain calm as the security agencies have restored normalcy and deployed more personnel to the area.
“Our administration will leave no stone unturned to respond decisively to prevent a recurrence of such attacks,” he stated.
Tuesday’s attack
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that suspected bandits stormed the National Park Service office inside Old Oyo National Park, killing several officers and injuring others.
The Park Conservator, Tesleem Kareem, confirmed the incident and said the attackers struck around 9 p.m., overwhelming personnel on duty.
He added that some bodies had yet to be recovered as they were believed to be in the surrounding forest.
The Oyo State Police Command also confirmed the attack and said the Commissioner of Police had deployed tactical teams, mobile police units and explosives experts to the area.
As of the time of the report, the police had not identified the attackers or established their motive.
Security reports show that bandits pushed out of North‑west Nigeria and areas near the Republic of Niger are moving into forested parts of Kwara and Niger states, using them as new bases for attacks.
The forest corridors give them cover to strike and escape, and their closeness to southern states has raised concerns among security officials. As a result, southern and South‑west states, including Oyo, have reported unusual bandit activity in forest areas.
The development has led South-west governors to call for better intelligence sharing and coordination between agencies to stop the threat from spreading further.
